The present invention relates generally to portable rechargeable devices and, more particularly, to recharging devices for use with such portable devices.
There are all manner of battery-operated, portable electronic devices that are used in a wide range of applications. Nearly all of these devices need to be recharged. Some of the more common types of such electronic devices include mobile/cellular telephones (“cell phones”), one or two-way pagers, and personal digital assistants (“PDAs”). Flashlights are also another type of portable, battery powered devices that can be recharged. As these and similar devices have evolved over the years, the size and form factor of the devices has generally become smaller and smaller. However, one limiting factor in the size of such portable devices is the battery or batteries used to power the device.
Many different battery technologies have arisen in an attempt to meet the requirements of advanced portable electronic devices. Similarly, battery recharging technologies have been developed in order to enable users to recharge their battery powered devices while on the go. For example, a user has been able to place a battery or the device itself into a recharger that is plugged into a wall outlet or into a cigarette lighter adapter in an automobile.
More recently, mobile rechargers have been introduced that enable a user to recharge his or her electronic device while the electronic device is being carried by the person. Some mobile rechargers have been configured to include an on-board battery that is used to charge the battery of the mobile device. See, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,859,481 to Banyas, U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,626 to Snyder et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,654 to Bachner, III et al., and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0116684 to Kim, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0087677 to Miller et al., which also is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a supplemental power source that is part of the user device itself. The internal main and supplemental power sources may be recharged by an external recharger and power supply.
FIG. 1 shows a holder 15 for use with a cell phone 10 as described in the Snyder et al. patent. The cell phone 10 includes main housing 20, a battery 25 and an antenna 30. Contacts 35 provide connection to power circuitry of the cell phone 10. The holder incorporates an auxiliary battery 40 connected with a housing 55. The housing defines a cradle 53 for holding the cell phone 10. A rib on the housing 55 may be positioned to engage a corresponding slot 60 on the main housing 20 of the cell phone 10. A clip 45 on the holder 15 enables the user to attach the holder 15 to a belt. Contact 70 of the cradle 53 engages contact 35 of the cell phone 10, electrically connecting the auxiliary battery 40 to the cell phone 10. The cell phone 10 includes auxiliary battery sensor circuitry 80 that switches power between battery 25 of the cell phone 10 and the auxiliary battery 40 of the holder 15. As stated in the Snyder et al. patent at column 3, lines 49-54, “[s]witching between the batteries is responsive to changes in current initiated by placement or removal of the telephone unit 10 from the housing 55. The sensor circuitry 80 also switches power back to the main battery 25 should the charge of the auxiliary battery 40 become depleted.”
The recharging devices of Snyder and the other references mentioned above are beneficial because they allow for charging the battery of a portable electronic device without the need for a connection to a fixed power supply, such as a wall outlet or an automobile cigarette lighter adapter. Unfortunately, while known recharging devices may be worn on a belt clip with a supplemental power source, such devices do not allow the user to control the rate of recharging or to manually disable or enable recharging at any time. Thus, it is desirable to provide a more robust recharging device which overcomes these and other problems.